The Expansion of the Islamic Empire

By Ta'ra Mckar
  • Period: Jan 1, 632 to Jan 1, 661

    The Rightly Guided Caliphs

    632-661
    The first four caliphs are known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Three of them were murdered.
  • Period: Jan 1, 661 to Jan 1, 750

    The Caliphate of the Umayyads

    The Umayyads made Islam even bigger. Islamic culture was founded in all the places they conquered. Under the caliph, Mu'awiya, Damascus in Syria became the capital of Islamic empire in 661.
    From about 690, Arabic became the official language of government. At the same time new religious coins were minted which had words on them praising God and Islam. The first great mosque, The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, was built in the 690
  • Period: Jan 1, 750 to Jan 1, 1055

    The Caliphate of the Abbasids

    After a civil war the Abbasid family came to power. Abu'l Abbas became the first Abbasid caliph. Arabic language became the official language in all the countries of the Islamic empirie. The Abbasids made Iraq, instead of Syria, the centre of the empire. Baghdad was founded as the new capital in 763 by al-Mansur. It remained a powerful city until 1258 when it was destroyed by the Mongols.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1055 to Jan 1, 1258

    The Caliphate of the Seldjuks

    A wave of invasions by Turkish wandering tribes changed the islamic empire. In 1091 the Seldjuks made Baghdad their capital city. Pope Urban began the first Crusade in 1096. By 1118 the Seldjuk empire had broken up into small states. Between 1171-93, Saladin ruled
  • Period: Jan 1, 1258 to Jan 1, 1517

    The Mamluks

    Mongol tribes from Central Asia invaded the Islamic world. Baghdad was destroyed in 1258 by Hulegu. The centre of Islamic life moved out of Iraq to Cairo in Egypt and Damascus in Syria